As I mentioned in the first post, goats were brought in to clear the land. We currently have four, Francesca, Blanche, Mamman and Baby.
Francesca is the leader of the pack. She has the most dominant personality and is constantly escaping. If there’s a way out, she’ll find it. She recently disturbed a theatre piece that was being performed in the lower gardens. This wouldn’t be as much of a problem if it weren’t for the fact that she can never find her way back in.

Blanche is next. Not as keen on escaping as Francesca, she is content to eat her way through the garden as is. She loves to be petted, and will push the others out of the way to get to food.

Mamman is a much more timid character than the other two. She doesn’t like to be handled, even if you’re offering food. She often gets pushed out from the food, and so likes to be fed on the rocks where the other two can’t or won’t climb to. However, she isn’t interested in escaping, which is a small blessing.

Baby is the smallest and the youngest. She is Mamman’s kid. Though well past being weaned she sticks with her mother most of the time. She is quite timid and doesn’t like to be handled too much. However, she is easily distracted by food, and will allow you to pet her if she’s eating.

At the moment we have cleared the rubble from the patches. Raked to the sides this creates a simple and natural border for the plots. These were then rotovated to prepare them for planting, and manure has been spread over the top. Fences have been erected around the plots to keep the goats from disturbing them. Hopefully doing this now before anything is planted will get them used to no longer having that space to roam in.

The next step is to cover the plots for winter. The plan is to use cardboard and plastic sheeting. This will keep the rain from disturbing the manure and insulate the soil, allowing the worms to do their jobs. Come the spring, the soil will be enriched and ready to plant.